 | ||
José María VIGIL (Zaragoza, Spain, August 22, 1946) is a Latin American theologian highly recognized in the fields of the theology and spirituality of liberation, theology of religious pluralism, and new paradigms. He has been a Roman Catholic priest of the Claretian Missionaries since 1964 and since 1971 has been a naturalized Nicaraguan citizen who currently is based in Panama. He is known for his numerous writings, his editorial and cybernetic activity, his services from the "Association of Theologians of the Third World (EATWOT)" as the general editor of their Theological Journal "VOICES" ; also for his coordination of the yearly edition of the "World Latin American Agenda" and for his theology of religious pluralism.
Contents
Biography
José María VIGIL was born in Zaragoza, Spain, in 1946. Since the early 1980s he has been living and working in Latin America.
He did his bachelorate (1956–1963) at the Colegio La Salle of Zaragoza. He joined the Congregation of Claretian Missionaries in 1964, and was ordained to the priesthood in Salamanca in 1971.
He published his first article in the Spanish "Diario de León» in 1969, and his first book in Valencia in 1975. Since then he has published several hundred articles in theological pastoral magazines and journals.
During 13 years he was involved in pastoral work in Nicaragua and in 1988 he received Nicaraguan dual citizenship. His pastoral efforts included working in the theological and communication departments of the Antonio Valdivieso Ecumenical Center "CAV", of whose magazine "Amanecer" he was also director for a time.
He accompanied the founding of "SICSAL», (The International Latin American Christian Solidarity Secretariate) under the auspices of Mons. Sergio Méndez Arceo, with the collaboration of bishop Pedro Casaldáliga, whom he accompanied on his tours of solidarity through Central America and Mexico. He also served as theological adviser of SICSAL.
Since 1987 José María participated in meetings with the theologian authors of the famous collection of liberation theology, guided by Vozes publishers of Petropolis, Brazil, until the collection was blocked by Cardinal Ratzinger from the Vatican "Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith". He continued participating for many years in the group of theologians Amerindia. In 1987 he also entered Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians (EATWOT). In 2006, at the General Assembly in Johannesburg, South Africa, he was elected coordinator of the Latin American Theological Commission, for the period (2006 to 2011), during which the commission also served as the International Theological Commission of EATWOT. In 2011 he was confirmed in the same position until 2017.
He is an active member of the International Council of "WFTL" (World Forum on Theology and Liberation). He participated from the beginning (2001) in the joint presence of liberation theology in the World Social Forum.
Academic formation
José María graduated in systematic theology at the Pontifical University of Salamanca (September 1972), and obtained his degree at the Roman University of St. Thomas (Angelicum), in1974). He began studying Clinical Psychology at the School of Psychology at the University of Salamanca terminating his degree at the University of Central America in Managua (1992). He has received a PhD in Education and New Paradigms from the "La Salle University" of San José, Costa Rica in 2008. In 2013 he was invited to and made a post-doctoral work in Religious Studies, by the Catholic University of Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
Principle occupations
Professor of Theology at the Regional Center for Theological Studies of Aragon (CRETA), of the Pontifical University of Salamanca in the 70s and 80s, and the Central American University of Managua (UCA) during the 80s and 90s.
Since 1992, together with Pedro Casaldáliga, he has published annually the Agenda LatinoAmericana in 18 countries and 5 languages on average.
He has directed the anthology series: «Of the many ways of God» (Abya Yala, Quito, Ecuador), with the participation of more than 70 theologians. For its broad comprehension of contents and authors this is the prime Latin American work on the subject. The five-volume series was published simultaneously in four languages: Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and English.
He has been "theologically active" on the internet heading-up the team of Koinonia Services, which he founded in April 1993. It is the oldest website on the network to offer on-line an Spanish biblical service and a theological journal.
Since 2006 he coordinates the Latino-American Theological Commission of EATWOT, "The Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians" (also known in Latin America as ASETT) ; this Latin American Theological Commission also is serving during the last two periods as International Theological Commission of EATWOT. He is general editor of "VOICES of the Third World" – the digital theological magazine EATWOT makes available to the general public.
With the same publisher – Editorial Abyayala, Quito (Ecuador) – directs the "Axial-Time Collection" which publishes "avant garde" themes e.g. new paradigms: the modern paradigm, the “religious-pluralist vision”; the baffling perspectives opened by quantum physics, “multi-culturalism”, process-philosophy, pos-theistic and pos-religious paradigms, the new epistemology, the new paradigm of biblical archaeology, etc.
José María has been the Invited Professor to courses, conferences and symposia in various Latin American universities, such as the Xaveriana in Bogota Colombia, the UNISINOS of São Leopoldo in Brazil, the Catholic University of Belo Horizonte in Brazil, the National University of Costa Rica, ITESO of Guadalajara in Mexico and the system of Jesuit universities in Mexico, the Methodist University of São Paulo in Brazil, and the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico, among others.
He has also been the invited speaker giving the lecture at many courses or international events, such as "Courses for empowering" organized by the CONFER of Peru (2011–2015) and that of Mexico (2015); the Multicultural Dialogue in Guadalajara, Mexico (2015); Regional Meetings of CEB's in Latin America, and the Congress of the Popular Christian Communities of Spain, the National Christian Forum d'Avui (Valencia, Spain, 2013), the International Buddhist-Christian Conference (New York, Theological Seminary, 2013), the Religious Forum in Vitoria Spain 2014, among others.
For two consecutive terms (1998–2005) he has been the Secretary General of CICLA, the Latin American International Confederation of the Claretian Congregation, now called MICLA.9 During that time he coordinated the creation and dissemination10 of the Diario Bíblico in all Latin American countries.
Intellectual theological itinerary
Entering into an adult theological life with the enthusiasm of the Second Vatican Council (1975) and its refurbishing theology, to which had dedicated the early years of his ministry, José María soon discovered the emerging Latin American "Liberation Theology" of the 1975's. This enthralled him and led to his being transplanted to Latin America, where he has since lived and been employed. From the privileged vantage point of "The Revolutionary Nicaragua" he accompanied the avant-gande militant Liberation Theology, the grassroots communities and the Church of the poor, working closely with his friend and claretian companion Pedro Casaldáliga.
With the arrival of so-called globalization in the 1990s, and in the third stage of his intellectual journey, José María also entered the theological field of "religious pluralism", a new branch of theology in which he has been one of the outstanding Latin Americans authors. Maintaining himself within the theology and the paradigm of liberation, he went on to adopt the well-known "Latin American methodology" (see > judge > act) that appears in many of his writings. His book "Theology of Religious Pluralism"—A systematic course in popular theology—has been hailed by Paul Knitter as the most representative Latin American book on "The Theology of Religious Pluralism", and has been published in Spanish, Portuguese, English, Italian and German.
The book is written not only vis á vis the academy but also exhibits a strong pedagogical substance making it suitable to be used in the formation of Christian communities. The book advocates a "pluralistic re-reading of Christianity." This of course earned for him a doctrinal indictment by two Spanish bishops, and being taken before the Commission for the Doctrine of the Faith of the Spanish Episcopal Conference. The up-shot of it all ultimately led to the imposition on José María of three years public silence (time now served-out) by the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
In recent years, after having participated in the General Congress of the CLAR (Bogotá 2009), and traversing a fourth stage in his intellectual itinerary, José María has again broadened his horizon of thought into the expanding world of the "sciences of religion", paying particular attention to the epistemological changes occurring in the culture: so-called "new paradigms" being un-covered by the sciences of religion that are currently confronting religions and spirituality, and which many consider to be a "new axial time" into which we as humanity are shifting. And to this he has devoted his recent years.